Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act 2023

2 Meaning of “plant” and “animal”

(1) In this Act “plant” means an organism in the taxonomic group—

(a) Archaeplastida, or

(b) Phaeophyceae.

(2) In this Act “animal” means an organism in the taxonomic group Metazoa, other than a human (or a human admixed embryo).

(3) In subsections (1) and (2), references to an organism—

(a) include an embryo and all subsequent developmental stages of the organism;

(b) in the case of a plant, also include a seed or a vegetative propagule;

(c) do not include a gamete.

(4) In this Act “gamete”—

(a) does not include an egg that is in the process of fertilisation or is undergoing any other process capable of resulting in an embryo, but

(b) otherwise includes a mature germ cell capable of initiating fusion with a germ cell of the opposite sex.

(5) In this section—

• “embryo” includes an egg that is in the process of fertilisation or is undergoing any other process capable of resulting in an embryo;

• “human” includes a human embryo and all subsequent developmental stages of a human;

• “human admixed embryo” has the same meaning as it has in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 by virtue of section 4A(6) and (11) of that Act.